


if i

by 324b2fun



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:20:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28814058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/324b2fun/pseuds/324b2fun
Summary: Ingrid is just trying to keep her head low and play softball until she graduates. It works until she becomes Dorothea Arnault's girlfriend. Fake girlfriend. Yeah, this isn’t what Ingrid imagined when she told Dorothea that she owed her.In which, Dorothea chases off a creep for Ingrid and takes Ingrid’s offer to repay her in a way that Ingrid wasn’t expecting.
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Ingrid Brandl Galatea
Comments: 22
Kudos: 88





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> just been very heavy in my dorogrid feels lately and decided they deserve a fake dating au

Ingrid can pinpoint the exact moment her life became a mess. 

It was one afternoon after softball practice when Ingrid stayed back to do some extra laps to work on her endurance. It’s something she likes to do every once in a while to make sure she’s in peak condition. That day, Ingrid had just finished doing her sprints when a guy walked up to her. He was tall and somewhat handsome, but Ingrid didn’t know him, just recognized him from the school hallways.

Ingrid dabbed her forehead with her towel as he approached her, eyeing him warily. 

“Ingrid? Hello, I don’t think we’ve ever really been introduced. I’m Peter.”

“What do you want?” Ingrid asked. She didn’t understand why this guy was bothering her. The name Peter sounded familiar. She thought he might’ve been on the soccer team with Dmitri and the boys. That still didn’t really explain why he was interrupting her practice. However, when Peter frowned at her, Ingrid felt a little guilty and rephrased her question, “Can I help you with something?”

“I wanted to talk to you,” Peter explained earnestly. “I’ve seen you around and think you’re beautiful, and I want to take you out on a date sometime.”

Ingrid couldn’t keep the surprise off her face, recoiling just a little. Out of all the things she expected him to say, that was not on the list. She stared at him blankly for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. She didn’t even know the guy. Ingrid licked her lips then said carefully, “I’m flattered, but I’m going to have to say no.”

“No?” Peter repeated, like the thought of her rejecting him never crossed his mind. His eyebrows furrowed as he said, “What do you mean no?”

Something in his tone made Ingrid pause. She’s overhead enough of her father’s business meetings to recognize that tone. Ingrid’s grip on her towel tightened. “I said no,” Ingrid says firmly. “Listen, you seem like a nice enough guy, but I’m not really interested in dating right now.” 

“Do you know who I am?” Peter said, and it should be a question but it came out sounding more like a demand. It set Ingrid’s nerves on edge. 

“No, but I don’t really care who you are,” Ingrid replies. “Please, leave me alone. I’m trying to do some training.”

Peter took a step forward. “Listen here–”

Suddenly, Ingrid’s vision was filled with brown curls.

“Hello, Peter. Fancy meeting you here.”

Ingrid took a hesitant sidestep to see who her savior is, only to freeze when she recognized exactly who it was. Dorothea Arnault stood in front of her, looking like she just came from cheerleading practice, given the spandex shorts and tight t-shirt she’s wearing. She looked gorgeous as always, even with her face set in distaste. 

“Dorothea,” was all Peter said.

“I don’t suppose you have a good reason for why you’re harassing the school’s star softball player, is there?” Dorothea asked, and her voice is light and melodic, but there’s also a hint of warning in it. “I mean, if you really were harassing her, and I happened to mention it to her team… Well, I’m sure we can both imagine how that would go.” That was definitely a threat. Ingrid had it on good authority that Leonie could and would beat up any guy who was bothering any girl, on the softball team or not. 

“We were just talking,” Peter spat out.

Dorothea didn’t even flinch. She just said, “You’re done talking. Now, run along.”

Peter took another step forward, and Ingrid moved before she could think. She moved in front of Dorothea, glaring at the guy. She wasn’t interested in him before, but she definitely wasn’t interested in him now. Peter looked between her and Dorothea before frowning and shaking his head. He muttered something unfavorable under his breath before walking away, but not without a final glare back at them. 

As soon as he was out of earshot, Dorothea placed a hand on Ingrid’s shoulder, face full of worry, as she said, “I’m sorry for just butting in. I parked in the back lot and saw you two as I was leaving. I know Peter pretty well because he took me on a date last year, and let’s just say, there was a reason why there was never a second date. You looked uncomfortable too, and I just…” Dorothea trailed off and bit her lip. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Ingrid assured her. She rubbed the back of her neck and admitted, “Thanks for chasing him off for me. He was getting pushy, and I might have decked him if he had made a grab for me.”

“He would have deserved it,” Dorothea laughed. She squeezed Ingrid’s shoulder and said, “I’m glad I happened to be walking by.”

“Me too,” Ingrid nodded. “I owe you.”

To her surprise, Dorothea, confident, cheerleading captain Dorothea, blushed and said, “Oh, Ingrid. You don’t owe me. I just did what anyone would have done if they saw some creep bothering a pretty girl.”

Ingrid got stuck on the fact that Dorothea called her pretty for a second before she shook her head. “No, I owe you. If I had hit him, I definitely would have gotten suspended and missed the chance to play softball this season. If there’s anything you need help with, let me know.”

“Anything?” Dorothea repeated, and it should have worried Ingrid how curious she sounded.

Instead, she just shrugged and said, “I mean, I’m not going to help you hide a body or anything, but if it’s reasonable.”

“Would you be open to being my fake girlfriend then?” 

Ingrid, who had just taken a drink from her water bottle, choked and sprayed her mouth’s content into the grass in front of her. She wiped her mouth and stared at Dorothea incredulously. The other girl just stared innocently back. “You’re kidding,” Ingrid said.

“I’m not!” Dorothea insisted. She grabbed Ingrid’s wrist, but the grip is loose and her skin is warm. “I know it sounds ridiculous, coming from me of all people.” She wasn’t wrong. Ingrid didn’t understand why Dorothea, who had a different guy on her arm each week, would want a fake girlfriend. “There’s only so much of senior year left though, and I want to spend that time with my friends. Not just random guys who’ll pay for my dinner and try to feel me up after.”

“Then why don’t you just do that?” Ingrid asked.

“I would, but some men can’t get it through their heads that a woman can’t just be single and happy,” Dorothea huffs. Ingrid immediately thought of Peter and the way he didn’t seem to understand why Ingrid turned him down. “Just this week, I told a guy I didn’t want to go to the movies with him because I was going with Petra, and he suggested a threesome!” Dorothea’s voice is fury-filled and indignant, and Ingrid felt that was only the tipping point of her anger. “He just didn’t understand why I would say no to him, if there wasn’t someone else in the picture.”

“So… your answer is a fake girlfriend?” Ingrid said, still not getting it. 

“I don’t trust a man to be a fake boyfriend to me,” Dorothea replied with a roll of her eyes. “I just want someone to point to when men bother me. You wouldn’t even have to do much. Just hang out with me every once in a while and hold my hand.” 

“You don’t even know me,” Ingrid pointed out.

Dorothea brightened. “Yes, exactly. That’s what makes it so believable.” Her grip on her wrist tightened slightly as she took a step closer. It didn’t make Ingrid uncomfortable though. “I wouldn’t suddenly start dating one of my friends, so that rules them out, and people already know I’m into girls.” Dorothea winks and adds, “Plus, you’re my type, so it’s believable.”

“T-that’s not what I meant,” Ingrid stammered. She shook her head and said, “I meant, you don’t know me. You don’t know if I’m awful and I’ll go and tell people about this. You don’t know if I’ll try and take advantage of you. Why pick me?”

“You’re friends with Dmitri and Sylvain,” Dorothea said, like that answered everything. When Ingrid just stared, Dorothea continued, “You’re friends with Dmitri, Edelgard’s half-brother. Edelgard is my friend, so I hang out with Dmitri sometimes. I also hang out with Sylvain sometimes. I have heard enough about you from both of them to know you aren’t going to do anything that would hurt me.”

“A fake girlfriend,” Ingrid repeated again. Her lips twisted as she thought about it. She didn’t know Dorothea that well, but similar to what Dorothea said, she has heard enough about her from mutual friends to know that she seemed pretty nice. A fake girlfriend though? It sounded ridiculous, but she did owe her… “For how long?”

“Just a few months,” Dorothea answered immediately. “Just until graduation, and then we can say we broke up because of college.”   
  


Ingrid couldn’t believe she was considering this. “And all I have to do is go out with you sometimes and hold your hand?”

“Yes,” Dorothea said, and Ingrid could tell she was excited but trying to hold it back. It was kind of cute. “Maybe hang out with me and my friends too, but they're nice. I can even pay for your stuff when we go out, and I promise I’m good company.”

“I guess,” Ingrid said, still unsure of why she's agreeing in the first place. “I guess I can be your fake girlfriend then, since you unintentionally helped make sure I get to play softball this season.”

“Oh, Ingrid, thank you!” Dorothea cheered. She threw her arms around Ingrid in a hug, and Ingrid flailed for a second. After a moment, she hesitantly wrapped her arms around Dorothea’s waist and tried not to marvel at her figure. Dorothea pulled back, flushed and beaming and just beautiful. “I promise, you won’t regret this.”

So, that’s how Ingrid finds herself where she is now, sitting with Dorothea in the cafeteria before classes start. They’re surrounded by her friends, and Ingrid has never felt more out of place. She’s surrounded with people she’s always heard about but has never actually spoken to in her four years of high school. 

There’s Hilda, who’s also on the cheerleading team with Dorothea, and the main reason how news of her and Dorothea dating is going to spread. It's a well known fact she's a huge gossip, which works to their advantage. There’s Edelgard and Hubert, the president and vice president respectively, of the debate team. There’s also Petra from the track team, and Caspar from the basketball team, and Ferdinand from the football team. Not to mention, on the edges of the group is Linhardt, the valedictorian of the junior class, and Bernadetta, the student who is single-handedly leading the archery team to victory at every tournament.

Ingrid knows of these people, has even had classes with some of them, but their circles have never really overlapped. At least, not until now. They’re the kind of people that everyone in the school knows of, and that means Ingrid has no idea how to act around them. 

It’s been four days since Dorothea saved her from Peter, and the two have been texting and calling nonstop to get their story straight. For the most part, it’s pretty close to the truth. They’re telling people about Dorothea helping her with Peter, and instead of offering to be her fake girlfriend, Ingrid asked Dorothea out for dinner. The two of them hit it off, and now they’re dating. While discussing everything with Dorothea, Ingrid has realized the other girl really is nice. She's nice, funny, and smart, and she's fun to talk to. Ingrid has started to look forward to her texts.

This morning is the first time Ingrid has actually been introduced to Dorothea’s friends. The past few days, Dorothea has just spoken to Ingrid in the halls, tangling their fingers briefly and smiling at her like they have a secret. Which, Ingrid supposes, they really do. However, last night, Dorothea texted her, asking if she could meet her friends in the morning to really seal the deal. Ingrid agreed easily since she doesn’t really do much in the mornings before school anyways. She usually hangs out with the boys on the soccer field, but she also reads in the mornings sometimes, so when she let them know she wasn’t coming today, they didn’t question her.

“You know, I always imagined Ingrid would be the one to, like, save someone,” Hilda says to Dorothea with a flick of her hair over her shoulder. She looks to Ingrid and says, “You’re always so polite and stuff.”

Dorothea laughs and holds Ingrid’s hand as she says, “Oh, I’m sure she’ll be saving me plenty in the future.”

“Hey, Ingrid,” Caspar pipes up on Ingrid’s other side. “I know softball is your thing, but do you play basketball at all?”

“Caspar,” Edelgard cuts in. “Stop trying to get everyone to play basketball with you. Ingrid has just joined us, and I’m sure she’s busy with her own sports.”

Caspar looks properly chastised, almost like a scolded puppy, as he turns back to Ingrid and says, “Sorry, but if you aren’t down to play basketball, you should come with us to get snacks after school some time! If you’re dating Dorothea, you’re always welcome!”

“That sounds fun,” Ingrid answers honestly. She’s always been a sucker for food. She goes to say more, but then Dorothea suddenly leans up against her as she giggles about something Hilda says. It makes Ingrid freeze for a moment, the feel of Dorothea’s body all pressed up against hers, and she feels her ears burn. Clearing her throat, Ingrid manages to say, “There’s a place that does really good skewers nearby.”

“I know what you're talking about! I love that place!” Caspar yells, slamming his hands down on the table. “We have to go! What are you doing after school?”

Ingrid stares at him with wide eyes and answers, “Practice.”

Caspar deflates and says, “Oh, right. Me too.”

“Maybe some other time, Caspar,” Dorothea pipes up.

Ingrid turns to reply, only to find Dorothea much closer than she expected. Their noses are almost touching, and Ingrid feels her heart come to a stuttering stop. She blinks, trying to find her words but nothing comes.

“Are you feeling okay?” Dorothea asks. Her voice is soft, and Ingrid’s first instinct is to move closer to hear her better, but then she realizes that any closer and they’d be… “I know they’re a lot, but you’re doing great.”

“I’m okay,” Ingrid replies, even as her chest feels so tight that she might pass out. “They’re nice.”

Dorothea smiles brightly at her, and the tightness in Ingrid’s chest doubles. “I’m glad,” Dorothea says. Her smile softens as she whispers, “You’re doing great, fake girlfriend.”

“Hey, lovebirds, cut it out!” Hilda calls out, and Ingrid jumps away from Dorothea like she’s been shocked. While Dorothea laughs and teases Hilda about someone named Marianne, Ingrid stares down at their joined hands with her heart racing in her ears. 

Ingrid realizes she might have signed up for more than she can handle with this whole fake girlfriend business.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which ingrid continues to fall fast

The rest of Ingrid’s morning is spent in a panicked haze as it finally sinks in what she’s agreed to. Ingrid is now basically dating Dorothea Arnault for the next five months. 

Why did Ingrid agree to this? She’s never dated anymore, let alone the prettiest girl in school. Not to mention, Ingrid has never even considered dating another girl. It’s not like she has a problem with it, but she’s just never imagined herself with a girl. Ingrid tries to bury her face into her arms as subtly as she can during her math class, groaning at her own stupidity. It had just been hard to say no with Dorothea looking at her the way she did.

Ingrid huffs. Okay, maybe the whole dating another girl thing isn’t the issue here. That’s fine. Maybe she’s not 100% straight. It’s not like Sylvain hasn’t been hinting that she might like girls since freshman year. The issue is that the other girl is Dorothea Arnault. Beautiful, popular Dorothea Arnault who everyone has a crush on, but who, as she told Ingrid herself, isn’t interested in dating anyone right now. Not that it matters. It’s not like Ingrid wants to date her. Ingrid absently writes down the date for her next math test as she shakes her head. 

She needs to get a hold of herself. She’s freaking out for nothing. So what if Dorothea is gorgeous and popular? Ingrid is fake dating her. She just needs to be friends with Dorothea at the most. That’s not so bad. It’s not like they’ll have to kiss or anything. 

Ingrid’s pencil almost snaps in her hand. 

Why the hell is she thinking about kissing Dorothea? 

When the bell rings, Ingrid all but leaps out of her seat. She’s never been more grateful that it’s lunch time. She needs food to get her mind off of this. 

Ingrid hurries to the cafeteria and grabs her food from the line before it gets crowded. She heads to her usual table where Felix and Sylvain are already sitting. She sits down across from them and offers a quick hello before she shovels a forkful of potatoes into her mouth. Ingrid listens to her friends as they argue over something about a show they watch together. It’s easy to let herself fall into their banter and offer some of her own commentary and forget about Dorothea. 

At least, until a pair of arms wrap themselves around her shoulders and an all too familiar voice says, “Hey, babe.”

Ingrid, Felix, and Sylvain all choke on their food.

“H-hey,” Ingrid stammers, trying not to squirm in Dorothea’s hold. She flails for a second before she settles for placing her hands over Dorothea’s. This is definitely more than handholding. “What are you doing?”

“What, a girl can’t come see her girlfriend during lunch?” Dorothea replies.

Ingrid shuts her eyes for a moment. When she opens them, she finds two pairs of eyes gaping at her. Oh, there’s no way they’re going to let her get away with this now. It’s hard to tell who’s more shocked though. She thinks Sylvain’s jaw might have come unhinged. Felix is doing a better job at hiding his surprise, but Ingrid doesn’t think she’s ever seen his eyes quite so wide before. Looking away from their gazes, Ingrid tries to focus on keeping up the act.

“You usually just eat with your friends,” Ingrid says as calmly as she can. 

“I know, but I just wanted to come say hi and see if you were free after practice to come over,” Dorothea replied. She tilts her head and pouts a little, and Ingrid feels a little more than powerless at the look. As if that wasn’t enough Dorothea says, “Please, I promise to make it worth it.”

Ingrid ignores the sound of Sylvain accidentally inhaling an entire bread roll and says quickly, “Fine. I’ll see you later.”

“Perfect, I’ll see you later,” Dorothea beams. She looks like she’s about to lean in, but at the last moment, she just smiles and winks. “Bye, Ingrid.”

As soon as Dorothea walks away, Felix and Sylvain are on her.

“Dorothea Arnault?” Felix hisses while Sylvain holds up a hand and says, “She’s so hot. Score!”

“Please stop,” Ingrid tries.

“No,” Felix replies without missing a beat. “What are you thinking, dating her?”

“Uh, she’s thinking about how hot she is,” Sylvain says, still holding his hand up for a high five. He grins. “Come on, Ingrid. High five. You deserve it. I mean, come on, Dorothea Arnault?”

“Shut up,” Ingrid hisses. “Stop acting like she’s a piece of meat.”

Sylvain raises both hands in surrender and says, “My bad. I just meant, congrats.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Felix asks, and it’s impossible to tell if he’s upset.

“It was just so sudden,” Ingrid mumbles. She stares down at her food and sighs. “I just didn’t know what to say, I guess.” She gives Felix a pointed look and says, “Maybe I was so hesitant because of how you’re acting now.”

“I’m just saying that you should be careful,” Felix tells her.

Ingrid rolls her eyes, “Careful of what? Dorothea’s perfectly nice.”

“You mean besides the whole dating a different guy every week thing?” Sylvain pipes up.

“Exactly,” Felix nods.

“I won’t take that from you of all people,” Ingrid says with a glare at Sylvain. She grabs what’s left of her lunch and stands from the table. “And I’m not going to stand around and listen to your badmouth Dorothea when she’s done nothing wrong.” Ingrid doesn’t bother listening to their protests as she walk towards one of the alcoves near the stairs. She also doesn’t listen to the little voice in her head asking why she was so angry on Dorothea’s behalf, and that’s because the answer is simple. Any decent person would be angry.

Ingrid spends the rest of the day partially annoyed. It’s awful, and then she gets even more annoyed for being annoyed in the first place. It’s just so ridiculous for them to judge Dorothea like that. Ingrid is free to date– free to fake date whoever she wants. 

By the time Ingrid gets to softball practice, she’s ready to work off some of her frustrations. She lets herself fall into the ease of softball, something she’s been playing since she was old enough to hold a bat. There’s just something else about the adrenaline of trying to beat the ball. It makes her thankful that they’re in season now, so they are working harder than ever. When practice ends, Ingrid feels a familiar ache in her muscles and can’t help but smile. She feels a lot better now.

Ingrid changes back into a pair of sweatpants and her t-shirt from earlier before heading out. She’s walking to her car, only to see Dorothea there. She’s surprised for a moment before she remembers Dorothea asked to hang out after practice. Running a hand through her sweaty hair, Ingrid grimaces. She hopes she doesn’t smell too bad.

“Hey!” Dorothea calls out to her when she’s close enough. She’s leaning up against her car, arms crossed but smiling brightly. It’s funny. Dorothea always comes off as so glamorous that Ingrid thought she’d drive a Porsche or something. Instead, Dorothea’s car is an older, silver sedan. “Good practice?”

“Yeah, I needed it,” Ingrid replies. She stops just a foot or two away and shuffles for a second. This feels like a moment where you’d greet your girlfriend with a hug or something, but no one else is around. Ingrid grips the straps of her backpack tighter. “Felix and Sylvain were being assholes after you left.”

Dorothea looks concerned as she asks, “To you? What happened?”

“Well,” Ingrid says, then pauses, regretting bringing it up at all. She shakes her head, “It doesn’t matter. They were just being jerks.”

“Okay,” Dorothea says slowly. She bites her lip for a moment, and Ingrid feels herself following the movement helplessly. “Are you ready to go? I was thinking we could go for a smoothie or something. You don’t need to rush home, do you?”

Ingrid glances at her phone and bites her lip. Technically, dinner doesn’t start for another two hours at her house, but she knows if she isn’t home soon, her parents will wonder where she is. Ingrid glances back up and meets Dorothea’s hopeful expression. Resigning herself to an interrogation, Ingrid says, “Sure, let’s go.”

“Perfect!” Dorothea beams. “We can drive separately since we both have our cars. Meet me at the Smoothie King down the street?”

Ingrid nods, and fifteen minutes later, she finds herself sitting across Dorothea with their smoothies. They exchanged small talk about how their classes were, but Ingrid gets the feeling Dorothea didn’t ask her here just to hear about how annoying her math teacher is.

Finally, Dorothea asks, “Did I cross any lines today?” She stares at her smoothie, avoiding Ingrid’s gaze as she continues, “I’d hate to make you uncomfortable when you’re the one helping me out.”

Ingrid chews on her straw for a moment before shaking her head. “No,” Ingrid says honestly. “Just… give me more of a heads up? Like when you hugged me during lunch. I didn’t mind, but I would’ve liked to know beforehand that you were going to do something like that.”

“Got it. Warn you before I pounce,” Dorothea smirks.

Ingrid all but squeaks out, “What? No pouncing. Just– just holding hands and stuff.” She’s clutching her smoothie so tightly that she’s about two seconds from squeezing it so tight it explodes.

“Okay, okay,” Dorothea giggles. She pokes Ingrid’s cheek with her fingers and says, “Got it. Holding hands and hugs.” She rests her chin on her fist and says, “Thank you again for doing this. I’m sure you’ve got better things to do than get dragged around by me on fake dates.”

“It’s not so bad,” Ingrid shrugs. “You’re good company.”

Dorothea looks surprised and pleased at the answer. She smiles and ducks her head a little as she says, “You’re not so bad yourself.” She leans back in her seat and gives Ingrid an appraising look. “So,” Dorothea says, “Ingrid Galatea, tell me about yourself.”

“What do you want to know?” Ingrid replies.

“Hmm, let’s get the basic stuff out of the way,” Dorothea says. “What’s your favorite color?”

Ingrid laughs, “That’s what you’re going with?”

“It’s a very important fact,” Dorothea says with a cheeky grin.

“Fine, it’s blue,” Ingrid answers. “What about you?”

“Red?” Dorothea says. She frowns a little then says, “Maybe maroon? Anything in that color spectrum.” She shrugs then asks, “What about your family? Any siblings?”

Ingrid nods, “Yeah, two younger brothers. One is going through his phase where he thinks he’s too cool for everything, but the other is still pretty innocent and cute. They’re okay. What about you, any siblings?”

There’s a strange pause where Dorothea seems to hesitate to answer. It’s just a moment though before Dorothea smiles and says, “No, just me.” Before Ingrid can linger on the odd lilt to her voice, Dorothea is swiftly changing the subject to Ingrid’s favorite food.

For the next hour, the two of them just share random facts about themselves. It’s been so long since Ingrid has made a new friend that it’s honestly refreshing to be able to talk to someone and find out all sorts of new things about them. The most interesting thing Ingrid learns is that Dorothea loves to sing, and apparently, she’s pretty damn good at it. When Dorothea admits to participating with a musical theater troupe over the summer, Ingrid finds herself charmed beyond words. 

Ingrid almost tells Dorothea that she’ll be sure to go watch during the summer, but then she remembers they won’t be fake dating anymore. Ingrid clenches her jaw for a brief moment before she tells Dorothea about the time that her and the boys put on a reenactment of Romeo and Juliet when they were twelve and how it ended with Ingrid breaking Sylvain’s nose. 

If she’s being honest, Ingrid could have stayed and talked to Dorothea for hours, but then she gets from her brother asking where she is, and she knows she needs to head home.

“Thanks for coming,” Dorothea says as they walk out to their cars. “I wanted to get to know you better, and I figured you felt the same way. Less awkward to date someone when they aren’t a total stranger.”

“I had fun,” Ingrid says. When Dorothea just sort of half-smiles, Ingrid insists, “Really, I did. It’s nice to hang out with someone whose idea of fun isn’t sparring or picking up hot girls.”

“Why pick one up when you already have one?” Dorothea winks.

Ingrid blushes but resolutely continues, “Don’t sell yourself so short. Like I said, you’re good company.”

There’s one of those moments again, when Dorothea just sort of pauses as if she’s trying to figure out what to say. Then, Dorothea just smiles and says, “And again, so are you. Have a good night, Ingrid.”

“You too,” Ingrid replies. She watches Dorothea get in her car and drive away. She sits there for a moment, trying to remind herself that they’re fake dating. That Dorothea isn’t interested in her. That Dorothea really only invited her out here to sell their fake dating cover. 

None of that stops the warmth blooming in her chest.


	3. Chapter 3

A little two weeks of fake dating, and Ingrid is almost unnerved at how easily her and Dorothea fall into a sort of routine. It shouldn’t be so easy to one day not even have talked to Dorothea and the next be holding her hand and planning dates.

Yet, somehow that’s what happened.

Every morning now, Ingrid sits with Dorothea and her friends in the cafeteria. Although she’s always sitting beside Dorothea, Ingrid finds herself talking to Dorothea’s friends more and more. Caspar is always excited to talk to her about food and sports. Petra likes to ask questions about Fargheus, and Ingrid likes to hear about Brigid in return. Bernadetta is slowly warming up to her, offering her half-waves before she goes to hide behind Petra. Edelgard talks to her sometimes, but to Ingrid’s amusement and surprise, she discovers Edelgard is equal parts earnest and awkward in her social interactions. It’s actually endearing, and it definitely makes it less intimidating to talk to her. The rest of Dorothea’s friends tend to just greet her before going back to their own conversations, but that’s okay with Ingrid. Keeping up with Caspar is usually more than enough first thing in the morning.

For lunch, Dorothea will sometimes join Ingrid and the boys. When she does, Ingrid is always amused by her banter with Sylvain and how she pesters Felix. Dmitri is usually overly polite with her and blushes whenever Dorothea teases him. They all get along, but it’s easy to tell when looking at them that Dorothea is an outsider. Not even her natural charisma can compare to their years of friendship starting from childhood. Still, the boys continue to let Dorothea eat with them, even Felix, and that says a lot.

Outside of school, Ingrid and Dorothea will hang out when they can, usually grabbing a snack after school or something. On days they can’t, Dorothea will always text her. She’ll ask how her day was or send a tweet she found funny. Dorothea is just as capable of keeping up a conversation over text as she is in person, and Ingrid finds herself often staying up later than usual to reply to one of Dorothea’s texts.

Even though it’s all fake, it really doesn’t feel like it. That should worry more Ingrid than it does, but right now, she’s content to just roll with the punches and accept the fact that she’s fake dating Dorothea now. It's nice to get to know Dorothea and make new friends because of this whole arrangement. 

As they got older, her schedule didn’t always line up with the boys’, and it became harder for all of them to meet up. Since the boys were her closest (and only) friends, and they all had their own things, Ingrid usually just went to school and went straight home. When she had practice, she’d attend then go home. However now, Ingrid finds herself dragged out more and more by Dorothea, and, more recently, her friends.

Like today, for example, Ingrid is out with Dorothea, Edelgard, and Petra after they all finished their respective extracurriculars. They’re at a cafe that Edelgard recommended, and Ingrid had been included in the invitation to go. Ingrid hadn’t been able to tell if it was because they actually wanted her there or because they were being polite, but, unable to resist the promise of good food, Ingrid came along. She’s glad she did too because she now has a half-drunk latte and empty plate in front of her. She’ll have to ask Dorothea if they can come back here some time. 

Ingrid leans back in her seat and is surprised to be enjoying the company so much too. Of course, she already knew she liked talking to Edelgard and Petra, but hanging out with them outside of school was new. It’s nice though. She smiles when Dorothea and Petra giggle at something while Edelgard rolls her eyes.

“So, Ingrid,” Edelgard says, grabbing everyone’s attention. She wears a teasing smirk as she asks, “Has Dorothea driven you crazy yet?”

“Excuse you, Edie,” Dorothea protests. “I am an absolute delight!” She leans up against Ingrid and pouts in a way that shouldn’t be as cute as it is. She nudges her. “Tell her, Ingrid,” Dorothea says.

Ingrid blushes under Dorothea’s attention and has to look away before she answers, “She’s fine.”

Both Petra and Edelgard laugh at her response.

“Dorothea is not a delight?” Petra asks, half-curious and half-laughing.

Ingrid sneaks a glance and almost laughs herself at Dorothea’s exaggerated pout. She takes the hand Dorothea has laying on the table and gives it a squeeze. “She’s growing on me,” Ingrid says honestly. It hasn’t been very long, but Dorothea is refreshing in so many ways. She’s flirtatious like Sylvain but not crude. She’s blunt like Felix but not rude. She knows her boundaries like Dmitri, but she’s also not afraid to push her a little. Dorothea is also just… so different from what Ingrid is used to. It’s nice.

Realizing her thoughts got away from her, Ingrid clears her throat and pulls her hand away.

“Growing on you like a fungus, I’m sure,” Edelgard says, cracking a smile when Dorothea glares at her. She checks her watch and says, “Oh, look at that. I should be heading home.” Ingrid has no idea if she actually needs to or is teasing Dorothea, but when Edelgard stands, she figures it’s the latter. For a moment, Edelgard just stands there, staring at them. She bites her lip before saying softly, “This was fun. We should do this again.”

“You bet, Edie,” Dorothea nods. “I have to get you back for all the teasing.”

Edelgard laughs, “Good luck with that.” 

“I should be taking a leave as well,” Petra says. “I promised my grandfather I would be home to help with the cooking of dinner.”

Ingrid and Dorothea wave good-bye to both girls but remain seated at their table. After the girls leave, Dorothea turns to her and smiles warmly. It should be illegal, the way Dorothea’s face is able to light up like this. “Thanks for coming,” Dorothea says. “I’m sure you’d rather be doing homework or something.”

“No, it was fun,” Ingrid tells her. “I didn’t have that much homework today anyways.”

“Good,” Dorothea says. She tilts her head. “It’s not too much, having to hang out with me?”

“Oh, yeah because you’re so awful to hang out with, Dorothea,” Ingrid rolls her eyes. She bumps shoulders with her and says, “I promise it’s fine.”

Dorothea gives her a look before saying, “Okay, if you say so. Since we’re on the topic, I was wondering if you’d like to go shopping with us this weekend. Us being me, Edie, Petra, and Bernie if I can convince her. I know shopping probably isn’t your thing, but I thought I’d ask if you were being serious about having fun today.”

“I was being serious, but I can’t,” Ingrid says apologetically. “I have a scrimmage match this Saturday morning.” When Dorothea says nothing, Ingrid rambles, “Like a practice match before the season officially starts. It doesn’t count for anything, but I can’t miss it. We got some new players, and we need to make sure we’re used to playing with each other in a game.” It’s not until after she’s done that she realizes that as a cheerleader Dorothea would most likely know what a scrimmage is.

Instead of looking annoyed, Dorothea just smiles and says, “That’s fine. I’ll be there.”

“Be where?” Ingrid asks.

“At your scrimmage match,” Dorothea says in a playful tone. She nudges Ingrid’s arm and says, “Isn’t that what a good girlfriend would do? Go to her girlfriend’s games?”

Ingrid blushes, “Well, yes but–”

“But nothing,” Dorothea cuts her off with a bright grin. She reaches out and holds Ingrid’s hand, tangling their fingers together in a way that makes Ingrid stare. “I can go shopping some other time. I really do want to go. Not just as your fake girlfriend, but as your friend as well.”

“Friend?” Ingrid repeats.

For the first time since Ingrid’s known her, Dorothea looks flustered. She glances away as she offers a stilted laugh, saying, “I mean, well, I thought of us as friends, but I guess I was mistaken.”

“No,” Ingrid says quickly. She blushes but gives Dorothea’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “I just thought… Well, I thought you wouldn’t want to be friends with me.” Seeing Dorothea’s confused expression, Ingrid stares at her empty plate and says, “You’re Dorothea Arnault. You’re gorgeous and charming and popular. You have plenty of friends already. Why bother with me? I figured you were just being nice because of the whole fake girlfriend thing.”

Dorothea’s flustered expression quickly turns to one of indignance. She lets go of Ingrid’s arm, only to hit her on the arm. “Why bother with you?” Dorothea says. “Ingrid, don’t you know anyone would be lucky to be friends with you? I’ve only known you for a few weeks, and I already know how great you are. You’re smart and hard-working, and you’re kind enough to go along with my crazy, fake girlfriend plan.” Dorothea shakes her head then softens. She says, “Stop selling yourself so short, Ingrid. You deserve better.”

“What about you?” Ingrid replies with a frown of her own.

“Me?” Dorothea asks, like she hadn’t expected the question.

“Yes, you deserve better too,” Ingrid tells her.

Dorothea purses her lips, “Ingrid…”

“No, it’s my turn,” Ingrid says firmly. She places her hand on Dorothea’s shoulder and makes sure to look her in the eye as she says, “Don’t you deserve better than having to have a fake girlfriend?”

They stare at each other in silence for a long moment before Dorothea smiles wryly and shakes off Ingrid’s hand, saying, “You deserve an award or something.”

“What?” Ingrid says, bewildered by the sudden comment.

“Nothing,” Dorothea says with an unreadable smile. “We’d better get going. You have to be home soon, don’t you?”

"Yeah," Ingrid replies slowly. She gets up and grabs her backpack, but the air between them feels strange now. As they leave, Ingrid asks, “Did I say something weird?”

“No,” Dorothea assures her. “I’m just…” She laughs. “I’m glad we’re friends, Ingrid. I’m glad we met.”

Ingrid blinks, not expecting that. Her cheeks heat up as she says, “Oh, well, I’m glad we met too.”

Then, just like that, the tension eases, and Dorothea sends her a teasing smile, saying, “Of course you are. If I hadn’t swooped in and saved you, who knows, you’d be on a date with Peter right now.”

Ingrid wrinkles her nose, “Not likely.” 

“Nice to know you have standards,” Dorothea snorts. She gives Ingrid a little wave and says, “Bye, Ingrid.”

“Bye,” Ingrid replies. She frowns a little, still thinking about Dorothea’s strange reaction early. “Hey, Dorothea?” Ingrid calls out.

Dorothea, who’d been walking to her car, stops and turns around with a curious expression. “Yeah?” Dorothea says. She’s wearing a confused half-smile, and Ingrid wonders if she imagined what happened earlier.

Shaking her head, Ingrid just smiles and says, “Nothing. See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow!”


	4. Chapter 4

The morning of her scrimmage finds Ingrid in her kitchen, washing the dishes from her light but filling breakfast. It’s her usual game day routine, the same one it’s been for almost four years now. Ingrid wakes up early, goes for a quick jog to wake herself up, then goes home to have breakfast before she heads to the field. 

Her family isn’t a part of her routine or her game days. Her father is always working, and her mother has many other things she’d rather be doing. Her brothers come sometimes, but as they get older, the less they want to go and watch. 

It doesn’t matter too much to Ingrid. Not anymore anyways. She learned to get over the sting of distance from her family a long time ago.

Glancing at the clock, Ingrid sees she has a little over half an hour before she has to be at school. Just enough time to find some fruit to round out her breakfast. As she’s grabbing an apple from her fridge, Ingrid hears the doorbell ring. She pauses, halfway in the fridge, waiting for someone else to go get it. Ingrid isn’t expecting anyone, but when no one else goes to answer, Ingrid sighs and makes her way to the door.

When she opens the door, she’s surprised to find Sylvain and Felix on the other side. She blinks in surprise, taking in the sight of the two of them on her doorstep. Sylvain is wearing jeans and a hoodie, and Felix is slouched beside him in his leather jacket. Just as they always have, they make an odd pair that fit together in the strangest way.

“What are you guys doing here?” Ingrid asks, even as she steps back to let them in. 

Sylvain puts her hands behind his head and gives her his signature grin, saying, “Come on, Ingrid. It’s your first game of the season. You didn’t think we’d miss out on that, did you?” 

“I wouldn’t put it past you to have scheduled a date,” Ingrid retorts, even as she feels herself relax at the news. Even though at least one of the boys tries to make it to every one of her home games, they do have lives too. It’s nice to see them making an effort after all this time. Especially when her blood family doesn’t bother to do the same. Ingrid feels her smile wane just a smidge. Shaking her head, Ingrid asks, “Is Dmitri busy?”

“He’s meeting us at the game,” Felix tells her. “He said he wanted to finish some reading for class before going.”

“Nerd,” Sylvain coughs. While Ingrid rolls her eyes, Sylvain’s face grows serious. He lowers his arms and stuffs his hands into his hoodie’s pocket. “We also came by to apologize,” Sylvain says. He nudges Felix with his elbow and gives him a pointed look. “Right, Felix?”

Felix glares at him but grunts an affirmative.

“Apologize for what?” Ingrid asks.

“We never said sorry for what we said when we first found out about you and Dorothea,” Sylvain explains. 

“Sylvain,” Ingrid hisses, glancing over her shoulder.

Sylvain immediately understands and lowers his voice as he continues, “We were just surprised, and well, yeah, we were worried given her reputation.” He sees Ingrid’s look of indignation and quickly says, “We know, it was stupid, but after takling to her, Dorothea seems nice. Right, Felix?”

“She’s not awful,” is all Felix says, but coming from him, it might as well be a standing ovation. 

“Really?” Ingrid says dubiously. Not because she thinks Dorothea is awful. She just doesn’t believe that Felix thinks that. He’s notoriously stubborn, especially when it comes to his opinion of people. “I mean, I figured you guys didn’t mind her when you were polite when she ate lunch with us,” Ingrid tells them. 

“We don’t mind,” Sylvain tells her firmly. “Look, I just wanted to make sure you knew we weren’t against you guys dating. We can tell you really like her.”

Ingrid pauses. Slowly, she says, “You can… tell?”

“Well, yeah,” Sylvian laughs, “It’s pretty obvious.”

It’s obvious how much Ingrid likes Dorothea. Dorothea, who Ingrid is in a  _ fake  _ relationship with. Ingrid knows she can bluff her way through a white lie every now and then, but an entire romantic relationship? Why would they think they can tell she really likes her unless… Ingrid feels her heart hammer in her chest at the thought. Unless her feelings for Dorothea aren’t platonic.

Ingrid looks away from her friends and swallows the lump in her throat. She thinks about how she felt when saw Dorothea’s text this morning wishing her luck and promising to see her there, the rush of affection and happiness. She could easily feel that way towards a friend too, but is that how it is with Dorothea? Ingrid closes her eyes for a brief moment, clenching her fists. No, she can’t have that. She can’t think about that, especially not today of all days. She has a game to focus on. Clearing her throat, Ingrid looks back up and forces a bland smile onto her lips.

“Thanks for apologizing, but please stop,” Ingrid says flatly. “It’s gross.”

Felix cracks a smile while Sylvain grins and says, “Aw, Ingrid. We love you too.” He reaches out to ruffle her hair, but Ingrid ducks out of the way and hits him instead. “Come on, grab your stuff. We’ll drive you to your game,” Sylvain says.

“I can drive myself,” Ingrid points out.

“Yeah, but we might as well drive you since we’re already here,” Sylvain shrugs. He nods his head to the right and says, “We live like down the street. It’s not like it’ll be a hassle to drop you off later anyways.” Sylvain smirks. “Well, if you even need us to drive you around with Dorothea there.”

Rolling her eyes, Ingrid says, “Shut up. Let me grab my bag then we can go.” 

Twenty minutes later, Ingrid goes to stretch with her teammates while Sylvain and Felix head to the bleachers where Dmitri is waiting for them. He offers Ingrid a smile and a wave when he spots her. Ingrid smiles back before turning to where her coach is saying something. 

Ingrid stretches her arms and thinks about how glad she is that the sun is out. It’s still pretty cold, but the sun makes things a little more bearable, at least until she’s running around.

“Ingrid!”

Dorothea walks up to where the field begins, and for a second, Ingrid forgets where she is. All she can focus on is the jeans that cling to Dorothea’s hips and the cropped sweater she wears that hints at a smooth stomach. Ingrid jogs over to meet her at the field’s opening, eyes still glued to her outfit. Ingrid barely manages to snap her eyes back up to Dorothea’s face as she says, “I just wanted to see you before the game started.” Dorothea bends down and presses a quick to Ingrid’s cheek.

“Dorothea,” Ingrid mumbles, feeling the stares of her teammates and friends as her cheeks burn. She had given Dorothea the okay last night for cheek kisses every once in a while, but she didn’t expect her to do it so soon. 

“What? It’s for good luck,” Dorothea grins. She goes to say something else when a gust of wind makes her shiver. Dorothea scrunches up her face and says, “I knew I should have brought a jacket.”

“Oh, wait here,” Ingrid says without thinking. She jogs over to the bench and grabs her letterman jacket where it’s strewn among the team’s stuff. She dusts it off and heads back over to where Dorothea is standing with her arms around herself. Ingrid wraps the jacket around Dorothea’s shoulders, tugging on it to make sure it’s on. “There, now you won’t be cold.”

To her surprise, Dorothea blushes as her hands reach up to pull the jacket more tightly around her. It’s rare to see Dorothea’s face red, but Ingrid finds herself wanting to see it more. “How chivalrous,” she murmurs. “My very own knight.”

This time it’s Ingrid’s turn to blush. She laughs and rubs the back of her neck. She recalls what Dorothea said to her the other day and says, “Isn’t that what a good girlfriend would do?”

“I suppose so,” Dorothea nods. She tilts her head and smiles, but this time it’s different. Less playful, more serious. A kind of softness to her face. “I’d better head up to the bleachers now and stop distracting you. Good luck, Ingrid.”

“Thanks, Dorothea,” Ingrid says, unable to stop herself from grinning. “I’ll make sure I win for you.”

Dorothea lets out a startled laugh and shakes her head, “You’d better, or else you owe me a milkshake.”

Ingrid watches Dorothea heads up into the bleachers, where Petra, Edelgard, and even Bernadetta are sitting. She offers a wave to the other girls and smiles when they wave back. Ingrid walks back over to her team and almost trips over her own feet as she realizes what just happened. 

Dorothea kissed her cheek. Ingrid gave Dorothea her jacket. Ingrid feels herself pause. When had that started feeling so natural?

While Ingrid is lost in her thoughts, one of her teammates walks up to her and nudges her arm. “Wow, flirt much,” Leonie teases.

“She was just saying hi,” Ingrid says, feeling her cheeks go red once again. 

“I bet she was,” Leonie laughs. “You guys are cute together.”

Ingrid mumbles her thanks before escaping, using stretching as an excuse. 

The game goes great. They win easily, and the dynamic of the team is smooth. There were a few mistakes here and there, but they were things they can easily fix with more practice. Ingrid is practically buzzing with excitement as she changes shoes and grabs her things from the sidelines.

Waiting for her in the parking lot are the boys, Dorothea, and all of Dorothea’s friends. They immediately burst into cheers when they spot her, and Ingrid rolls her eyes at them, but she’s smiling and blushing as she does. 

“Great game!” Dmitri tells her, clapping her on the shoulder.

“You were amazing,” Dorothea says to her, reaching out and squeezing her arm.

Edelgard smirks and says, “Yeah, she could barely take her eyes off you.”

“And your ass,” Sylvain adds.

“Sylvain!” Ingrid exclaims, feeling her face go even redder. She glances at Dorothea, who’s gone pink in the cheeks and is studiously avoiding eye contact with her. Ingrid sighs and punches Sylvain in the arm, grinning when he winces. “You’re buying me dinner for that,” Ingrid tells him. She tilts her head and adds, “You’re paying for Dorothea’s too.”

Dorothea opens her mouth, most likely to protest, but Sylvain just laughs and takes it in stride. He lifts his arms behind his head and says, “Fine, fine. I deserve that, but don’t go ordering a ton of food, Ingrid.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Ingrid grins.

After agreeing on a restaurant, everyone wanders off to their cars. Sylvain and Felix go together, Dmitri goes to his own car, and Dorothea’s friends go to Edelgard’s, leaving Ingrid with Dorothea.

“I meant it, you know,” Dorothea says as they walk to her car. She smiles down at her and bumps their shoulders. “You were amazing out there. I’ll admit I’ve never been a huge softball fan, but it was different watching you.”

“I’m glad you had fun,” Ingrid says, trying to hide how pleased she is that Dorothea liked watching her play. She thinks about what Sylvain said earlier.  _ We can tell you really like her.  _ Ingrid takes in the sight of Dorothea in her jacket, the sun shining down on her, and feels her breath get caught in her throat. Maybe Sylvain is onto something. 

Dorothea stops in front of her car and says, “Here, you can have your jacket back now.” She goes to shrug it off, but Ingrid stops her by placing a hand on her wrist.

When Dorothea looks at her questioningly, Ingrid blushes and says, “You can keep wearing it for now. I’m still running hot from the game.”

“Hot, indeed,” Dorothea teases. She readjusts the jacket and says, “Well, if you insist. Now, come on. I want to see if Sylvain was serious about you eating twenty tacos in one go.”

“He told you that?” Ingrid asks, already thinking about the way she’s going to get him back for that.

Dorothea laughs and says something, and Ingrid lets herself sit in the passenger seat, ignoring the fact that she may be falling for Dorothea.

**Author's Note:**

> who's ready for a lot of gay panics and pining


End file.
